By Guy Lawrence

‘For all but the last few hundred years (a heartbeat on the genetic evolution time scale), really sweet foods have been difficult to find.’ – David Gillespie

Sugar… It’s a delicate topic. Unless you’ve been living in a cave lately, you will know that sugar has been copping a lot of flack from the media over recent times (and rightly so I feel). But even with all this media attention, it still washes over many people’s heads and gets thrown into the all too hard basket, with my mate included.

I’ve been guiding my mate now for quite some time with the misconceptions of weight loss and his health kick. He felt that eating fruit salad would help his weight loss plan, counting calories and drinking diet sodas was a healthy choice, following the food pyramid was  beneficial and hours and hours of running a week was going to improve his health. Then I challenged him and his way of thinking and asked him to reconsider his approach, and thankfully he has so far.

We caught up for a cuppa and a chat recently, and as he puts a great big spoonful of honey in his tea, he looks at me and says “this is ok isn’t it? I mean, it’s natural right?”

He then tells me he’s stirring lots of agave syrup into his porridge in the morning too. O’ dear… Continue reading →

By Guy Lawrence (Click image to enlarge)

A friend said to me the other day that when pharmaceutical companies name a new drug, they either put the letter X, Y or Z in the name… He said it now sounds scientific and complicated and it must be able to do wonderful things!

This was said in a tongue-in-cheek manner, but then I saw this picture (left) on FaceBook and it did make me wonder.

I recently read here that over 50% of US citizens are taking some form prescriptive drug, amazing!

Do you fit into this percentage? Could you be doing more to look after your health?

People complain that they are run down and often unwell, yet they never really look beyond quick fixes to resolve the underlying issue. I understand everyone’s circumstances are different, and pharmaceuticals can be of benefit in some cases… but where’s the line? Continue reading →

By Guy Lawrence

One fine Saturday morning in the Coogee Tropicana Cafe after a very enjoyable ocean swim…

Friend: May I get the muesli fruit salad and a freshly squeezed apple juice please…

Me: Uh?? What happened to the big brekkie and long black you always order?

Friend: This is the new me mate… I need to drop a few kilos so I’m on a health kick!

I order an omlette and congratulate him on his new found enthusiasm for his health kick and weight loss plan. At this point I have two options:

A) I could sound like a food nazi and tell him my thoughts on what he just ordered… or B) Keep my mouth shut and wish him the best of luck.

I choose the latter… the last thing I wanted to do was dampen his spirits with my thoughts with weight loss and fruit, so I thought I’d put into a blog post instead and mail it to him… Continue reading →

Are you eating a bowlful of sugar for breakfast?

Health conscious consumers should take a closer look at the nutrition panel of their favourite cereal to avoid often alarmingly high sugar levels that could be jeopardising health and weight management efforts.

Many consumers are completely unaware that the majority of popular cereals, even the so-called ‘healthy’ brands, are loaded with 20 per cent or more sugar.

With the rising concerns of our country’s obesity epidemic, it’s crucial consumers wise up to the underhanded marketing and half-truths trumpeted by many cereal producers.

Consumers need to actively seek out the complete nutritional picture of their favourite cereals to inform themselves to make genuine health-promoting choices.

Also, don’t be misled by what’s shouted on the front of the pack or highlighted on the nutritional panel. It’s usually because the other nutritional facts are lacking. For example, if a food product is low in fat, there’s a good chance it’s high in sugar.

Read the full article here.

For a nutritious breakfast try 180 Natural Superfood.